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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 0640.PDF
DEFENCE ANALYSIS UNMANNED AIR VEHICLES PAUL LEWIS / ORLANDO Afghanistan conflict heralds new age for combat UAVs Recent success spurs US Department of Defense to seek $1.1 billion to boost programmes for air force, army and navy As the US military starts to digest the lessons from the Afghanistan conflict, it is clear that unmanned air vehicles have emerged as clear winners from the war on terrorism. This is reflected by the US Department of Defense's recently proposed fiscal year 2003 budget, which is seeking more than $1.1 billion to accelerate development and deployment of a number of critical systems for the USA's air force, army and navy. The success of the General Ato mics RQ-1A Predator, armed with little more than a pair of Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire, has underlined the potential of an armed UAV. While the near-term demand for extra firepower will be met by the larger turboprop- powered Predator B, longer-term planning focuses on purpose-built unmanned combat air vehicles for the air force (UCAV-AF) and navy (UCAV-N). The former has pro gressed the furthest and, with the first of two Boeing X-45A demon strators due to fly soon, the USAF wants to field 14 UCAVs by FY08 to begin an operational assessment. Mike Heinz, vice president of Boeing's recently created Unman ned Systems business unit, says: "It's always a challenge to acceler ate a programme by a year or two, but we're getting a head start by having the engineering in place to start designing the X-45B vehicle in advance of the plan. We've the ability to start getting ready the additional laboratories necessary to finish the A-vehicle and develop mental flight testing, and com mence work on the B-vehicle in parallel with that." The three follow-on X-45B dem onstrators will more closely resem ble the initial Block 10 UCAV-AF planned for 2008, with an increased 8.5t maximum take-off weight, 63% larger wing area, and the integration of low-observable (LO) features (Flight International, 18-31 December 2001). Boeing is seeking a more powerful 7,0001b-thrust- (31kN) class turbofan and reviewing responses to its recent request for proposals (RFP) for the UCAV radar, electro-optical/infrared sensor and electronic warfare (EW) suite. "We'll be selecting partners in the next three months," adds Heinz. UCAV-N is one step behind UCAV-AF, with the USN still to choose between the Boeing X-46 and competing Northrop Grum man X-47 as the basis for a full-up an aircraft carrier with only small dispersions," says Heinz. Whereas the USAF's immediate mission focus is on suppression of enemy air defences, the USN is looking to UCAV-N initially to pro vide an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability, with armed strike following around 2020. The USN's requirement for operation up to 12h at extended distances over hostile territory dri ves the need for improved surviv ability, something that until now has not been afforded high priority. The first of two Boeing X-45A demonstrators is being prepared for flight demonstrator. RFP submissions are due shortly with selection expected in early summer. The navy's roadmap calls for the deployment of an operational vehicle aboard an aircraft carrier around 2015, but this schedule is being reviewed and could be accelerated. UCAV-N faces altogether different challenges from its air force counter part. "I think the focus of the next phase will be on convincing every one that you have an autonomous vehicle capable of coming aboard "Historically, the loss rate for UAVs is over 100 times that of manned aircraft and, although in Afghanistan these are not people driven, sooner or later losses mount," says Neil Kacena, Lock heed Martin deputy advanced development programmes. The key ingredients for battle field survivability are LO, F.W and balancing the need to gather intel ligence with controlling signal em issions. Future UAVs, UCAVs and what Lockheed Martin is terming unmanned reconnaissance air vehicles (URAV) will draw on the pool of technology developed by the Skunk Works and Boeing's Phantom Works for the Joint Strike Fighter. This will include clear radomes capable of supporting very wide bandwidths and LO sen sor apertures, as well as seals and leading-edge treatment. If UCAV/URAVs are to be fully exploited, they must also be made an integral part of the evolving net work-centric architecture. The use of RQ-lAs in Afghanistan, in con junction with Lockheed Martin AC-130 gunships, has provided a sneak pre view of what could be pos sible in a future system-of- systems environment. "There is a time-critical chain of find, fix, target, track, engage and assess," says Kacena, which entails not only locating a target, but optimising a real-time response that might include jamming or a suppression of enemy air defences strike. This is driving a need for real-time mission planning, with which Ixxrkheed Mar tin is already experimenting using the navy's P-3 Hairy Buffalo testbed and an F-l 17 simulator equipped with an in-flight planner to do in four seconds what had pre viously taken 12h. Both Heinz and Kacena agree the recent conflict has also highlighted the need for an extended endurance vehicle that would be able to dwell over a battle field and continually stare rather than periodically pass over. Whether this could be fulfilled by a Northrop Grumman RQ-4A Global Hawk derivative, or whether a new system would be required, more along the lines of the Air Force Research Laboratory's Sensor Craft concept, remains to be seen. 28 5-11 MARCH 2002 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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